| VOL. 37, NO. 3 - FALL 2004 |
Curriculum Models and Instructional Techniques
Teacher Development
Developing the Interpretive Mode of Communication
CONTINUING COMMENTARY
It’s Not “Just a Matter of Time:” A Response to Rifkin
Curriculum Models and Instructional Techniques
What Underlies Immersion Students’ Production: The Case Of Avoir Besoin De
Sharon Lapkin, University of Toronto; Merrill Swain, University of Toronto
Abstract: One of the advantages of having students work in pairs on language-related tasks is that teachers and researchers can listen to what the students say as they carry out their assigned tasks. What they say offers insights into the students’ beliefs about the target language they are learning and using, and reflects the cognitive processes they use to produce an utterance. In this paper, we analyze dialogues between pairs of eighth grade French immersion students about avoir besoin de. Our analysis provides insights that allow teachers to help students more accurately encode the meaning they wish to express. Teachers and researchers are also given an insider’s view of how learners make use of what they already know to support their learning of an additional language. (pgs 349-355)
The Practicality and Efficiency of Web-Based Placement Testing for College-Level Language Programs
Elizabeth B. Bernhardt, Stanford University; Raymond J. Rivera, Stanford University; Michael L. Kamil, Stanford University
Abstract: Articulation is one of the principal challenges of all foreign language programs. A key component of the articulation process is an assessment of student language abilities. On college and university campuses this process is usually conducted via a placement test. As developments in profi- ciency research have progressed, it is clear that programs need information about a student’s grammatical command of a language as well as about their integrative use of the language specifically in speaking. This article examines the process of having students test online before their arrival on campus and provides insights into efficiencies brought about by such testing. The data for the article were generated by 679 learners of Spanish and 78 learners of German as well as by their 14 instructors and 2 language program directors. (pgs 345-366)
Tutoring for Community Outreach: A Course Model for Language Learning and Bridge Building Between Universities and Public Schools
Susan G. Polansky, Carnegie Mellon University
Abstract: The integration of foreign language learning with service-learning has continued as a growing trend through the 1990s into the 21st century. Tutoring programs can offer unique opportunities for addressing the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning (1999). This article details one flexible curriculum-based model that promotes specially the fifth goal area of communities. A course involving collaboration between an institution of higher learning and local schools allows undergraduate students with diverse languages and competencies and a wide variety of academic and career interests to work with pupils from grades 1 through 12. (pgs 367-373)
Full-Scale Theater Production and Foreign Language Learning
Colleen Ryan-Scheutz, University of Notre Dame; Laura M. Colangelo,University of Notre Dame
Abstract: This article reports a case study designed to explore the effectiveness of full-scale, authentic-text theater production for second language learning. Based on the results of preproduction and postproduction tests completed by cast and crew members, as well as the observations of all involved, the authors maintain that the diverse communication tasks necessary for the project, and the motivation generated by a common and public goal, make foreign language theater production particularly conducive to learning. The findings in this study indicated general tendencies toward improved proficiency in speaking and reading and very positive student perceptions with respect to the gains they made individually in various skill areas. Finally, the study revealed increased levels of comfort in using the foreign language. (pgs 374-389)
Language Learning Disabilities: The Ultimate Foreign Language Challenge
Sharon M. DiFino, University of Florida; Linda J. Lombardino, University of Florida
Abstract: In today’s world where great value is placed on global understanding, the acquisition of languages is essential. Academics would agree that the study of other languages provides students access to the cultural and intellectual heritage of cultures other than their own. Additionally, such study gives new and different perspectives on the structure and complexity of English. For the majority of students, the fulfillment of the college foreign language requirement is not problematic. But what happens to the individuals who have difficulty fulfilling the requirement? This article describes the special difficulties university students with dyslexia and other language learning difficulties have in satisfying the foreign language requirement. The article also provides a checklist of warning signs that identify students who are at risk for failure in foreign language classes, academic options to help students with language learning difficulties, and recommendations for alternative teaching methodologies for students who do not have the ability to learn a foreign language through traditional teaching methods. (pgs 390-400)
Teacher Development
Developing Collaborative Cyber Communities to Prepare Tomorrow’s Teachers
Gillian Lord, University of Florida; Lara L. Lomicka, University of South Carolina
Abstract: Computer-mediated exchange and interaction have become topics of debate and discussion in the past several years due to the growing interest in synchronous and asynchronous communication and their role in language acquisition, learning, and teaching (Liu, Moore, Graham, & Lee, 2002). This article offers a model for a collaborative course on Technology in Foreign Language Education (TIFLE) that is built around computer-mediated discussion. The graduate seminar, designed and taught collaboratively at the University of South Carolina and the University of Florida, allows students to experience the benefits and challenges of virtual communication as they engage in discussions about the theoretical and practical interface of pedagogy and technology in language teaching. Course components, such as chat, e-portfolios, multi-user object oriented domains (MOOs), an electronic discussion board, and virtual guests are discussed and the outcomes of the seminar are highlighted in terms of student gains. (pgs 401-416)
Collaborative Teaching in an Intensive Spanish Course: A Professional Development Experience for Teaching Assistants
Jonita Stepp-Greany, Florida State University
Abstract: This pilot project was designed to provide professional development to teaching assistants(TAs) and improve undergraduate instruction in an intensive Spanish course through the use ofcollaboration and experiential instruction. TAs improved their teaching strategies, learned techniquesto solve classroom problems, and reported satisfaction from relationships with students and one another.Difficulties for the TAs included finding common planning time, pacing the material, presenting aunited front toward students, and handling a high level of novelty in the situation. Undergraduate studentsin the course reported positive attitudes toward Spanish language and culture and an increasein their ability to use Spanish for communication. (pgs 417-426)
Teacher Development and National Standards for Spanish as a Heritage Language
Kim Potowski, The University of Illinois at Chicago; María Carreira, California State University, Long Beach
Abstract: Given the increasing presence of heritage speakers at both the high school and postsecondary levels, greater numbers of preservice and in-service Spanish teachers need exposure to Spanish for native speakers (SNS) issues. This is because well-structured SNS courses should look more like native language arts courses than like Spanish as a foreign language (SFL) courses. Therefore, traditional foreign language methodology courses are insufficient to prepare teachers to work with heritage- speaking populations. In addition to offering considerations for national standards in SNS teaching, the authors suggest coursework components designed to prepare teachers to work more effectively with SNS students. (pgs 427-437)
Developing the Interpretive Mode of Communication
Gains to Language Learners from Viewing Target Language Closed-Captioned Films
Melissa A. Stewart, Western Kentucky University; Inmaculada Pertusa, Western Kentucky University
Abstract: In an effort to facilitate students’ understanding of films in the target language, many instructors turn to films with English subtitles. Viewing films subtitled in English does not encourage learners to use their previously acquired listening skills, but rather allows them to rely on reading English instead of making the extra effort required to follow what they hear in the target language. Current DVD technology offers another option: watching foreign language films closed-captioned in the target language, which provides visual reinforcement of what students are hearing. In a comparison study of gains in vocabulary recognition made by students in intermediate Spanish conversation classes viewing films with English subtitles and others watching the same films with Spanish closedcaptioning we found slight differences. However, surveys of student reactions pointed to a number of possible benefits for language learners of watching closed-captioned films in the target language. These merit further investigation. (pgs 438-447)
Comparison of L2 Listening and Reading Comprehension by University Students Learning English in Korea
Gi-Pyo Park, Soonchunhyang University
Abstract: This study compared L2 listening comprehension with L2 reading comprehension in terms of the roles of linguistic knowledge, background knowledge, and question types among 168 university students learning English in Korea. The analyses of the data found that L2 listeners processed inferential information more easily than factual information, while the reverse was true for L2 readers. In addition, linguistic and background knowledge exerted significant effects on L2 listening comprehension. In L2 reading comprehension, however, linguistic knowledge played a significant role, while background knowledge played only a moderate role. In terms of the interaction among linguistic knowledge, background knowledge, and question types, only linguistic and background knowledge in L2 listening comprehension and linguistic knowledge and question types in L2 reading comprehension were significant. Third, linguistic knowledge and background knowledge combined explained a total variance of 14% in L2 listening comprehension and 20% in L2 reading comprehension. These findings show that L2 listening comprehension and L2 reading comprehension differ from each other and that the comprehension of an oral and written text is a more complex process than the interactive process model holds. (pgs 448-458)
Teaching Literature/Reading: A Dialogue on Professional Growth
Leah Fonder-Solano; Joanne Burnett
Abstract: From 1999 to 2002, two university professors, one trained in language education and French and the other in Hispanic literature, undertook a comparative qualitative study of their parallel third-year reading course. Using a variety of data sources, most importantly extensive interviews, they documented their teaching beliefs, practices, and perceptions of themselves and each other. The results report conceptual and curricular changes and the implementation of new ideas in classroom practice. In engaging in critical inquiry and dialogue about their professional lives, these two seasoned teachers add to the growing body of teachers’ stories. This study also meaningfully addresses the issue of professional regard between literature and language education faculty. (pgs 459-469)
CONTINUING COMMENTARY
It’s Not “Just a Matter of Time:” A Response to Rifkin
Eileen W. Glisan, Indiana University of Pennsylvania; Richard Donato, University of Pittsburgh (pgs 470-483)
